DISTANT

“Uzak”

Directed and written by Nuri Bilge Ceylan

Cast: Muzaffer Özdemir, Mehmet Emin Toprak, Zuhal Gencer, Nazan Kırılmış, Feridun Koç, Fatma Ceylan, Ebru Ceylan

2003, 110 minutes. In Turkish with English subtitles.

Mahmut is a relatively successful commercial photographer who has been struggling to come to terms with the growing gap between his artistic ideals and his professional obligations. As he clings to the melancholic and obsessive routines of his solitary life, without warning, Mahmut’s distant relative Yusuf arrives in Istanbul. As the two men struggle to make a connection, communication is slowly reduced to the bare minimum, and their time together must come to an end. Elegant cinematography and a deeply pensive tone evoke the style of Russian master Andrei Tarkovsky. "Distant is an arthouse film par excellence, a consummately made study of loneliness and frustration that confirms the emerging talent of Turkish auteur Nuri Bilge Ceylan" (Variety).